NESHOBA COUNTY, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – The Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office says a suspected drunk driver and his passenger are facing multiple charges after an SUV struck a Neshoba Central school bus and fled the scene Tuesday afternoon on Highway 488.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect’s vehicle crashed into the rear of the westbound school bus near the intersection of Highway 488 and County Road 147 by the Hope Country Store around 4 p.m. Neither the students nor the bus driver were injured.
The SUV continued on Highway 488 and left the scene. Deputies located a vehicle matching the description about two to three miles south of the crash near the intersection of Highway 488 and County Road 339.
Sheriff Eric Clark said a deputy happened to be pulling onto Highway 488 from County Road 339 when he spotted a vehicle matching the description of the call.
“God put a deputy in the right place at the right time,” Clark said. “It’s a testament to the work our deputies do every day to patrol the community and keep our area safe. This was a very timely traffic stop.”
Deputies had to assist the driver out of the vehicle, and authorities determined he was nearly three times the legal limit to drive, Clark said.
The driver, identified as 57-year-old Stanley Wayne Barrentine of D’Iberville, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, no insurance and 17 counts of child endangerment.
The passenger, 36-year-old Kristy King of Conehatta, was arrested and charged with public intoxication, littering, obstructing traffic, providing false identification and disorderly conduct, Clark said.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
Clark said Neshoba County has a zero-tolerance policy for impaired driving and noted Barrentine recently moved to the area from south Mississippi.
“This fits perfectly with our department’s slogan,” Clark said. “Not in Neshoba County.”
All images Courtesy of the Neshoba County Sheriff’s Office